


verdance // twdg louis

by sunstarss



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-01-13 13:17:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunstarss/pseuds/sunstarss
Summary: originally written on wattpad.a TWDG louis x reader fic.--a new girl shows up to the gates of ericson's asking for food, water, and maybe even a place to stay. in return, she says she'll help the boarding school become better than it's ever been. however, while the school grows, the kids of ericson's seem to become a bigger target than ever. will they be able to defend it, or will their home be stolen from them?--this will be very self-indulgent, but i promise it'll be great! i love louis so much, and i know others do too, so what better way to show it than in a story?this will NOT be following the circumstances and events that happen in TWDG: The Final Season, only the characters.





	1. Chapter 1

"Augh!"

You would cry out softly and jolt forward, now awake, as your wooden boat abruptly hit land. You rubbed your eyes and blinked them to adjust to the gentle morning light and looked around to see where you ended up during your sleep.

You and your boat were sitting on a sandy shore surrounded by woods as far as the eye could see, driftwood and other debris littered across the ground nearby. The grounds looked almost untouched with no footprints or other signs of human life around and you couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad thing. Water from the river sloshed into your boat and splashed your shoes as if it were urging you to get out and go look for something - anything really.

"Alright, I'm going. Stay here, girl." You said to the boat and patted it gently on the rim. Being alone, you would talk to who you could so you didn't go apeshit and usually it was just to yourself, or your boat. Her name? Boat. That's it. It suits her.

You slung your bag over your shoulders and stepped out to pull Boat further onto the shore so she wouldn't get swept away by the rushing river. Sighing, you turned to walk into the woods, retrieving your knife from the sheathe on your hip just in the case of an emergency. You placed your feet carefully and kept alert, listening for any sounds that would betray an enemy's position in the case that this place was inhabited. You couldn't risk being off guard in a new place, it could cost you your life and you weren't done fighting in this forsaken world just yet.

As you walked through a piece of the woods, you realized that there were traps all around you. Ropes set from the trees were scattered about, some set off and others were waiting to be, covered with leaves to be hidden from view. "That means there's people here. Let's be careful." You thought and sighed once more, carefully weaving your way through the traps. You cleared through just fine and continued to walk for a little while, praying that this expedition wouldn't be fruitless.

In a couple of moments, far away laughter broke through the silence the woods welcomed and it made you jump out of fright. You dropped closer to the ground in a crouch and ducked behind a thick tree stump, carefully peeking your head out to see what was going on. No one was nearby but voices accompanied the laughter now, still far and unintelligible but voices nonetheless. Creeping closer to the source, you parted through the trees and saw a massive, elegant-looking gate a few yards away. You could see a courtyard with a dilapidated flag pole standing tall in the middle and if you squinted hard enough, you could see a small group of people inside too. It was all surrounded by thick cement walls and there were guard posts on both sides of the gates, the one on the right occupied by a little boy.

"Alright, let's give this a shot."

You took in a deep breath and stuffed your knife into your bag before walking out into the clearing, your hands up and open to show you weren't a threat as you came to the gate. The little boy looked down at you with wide eyes, then a glare, and threateningly aimed his gun at you.

"Don't. Move." He warned you, tossing his head over his shoulder to call to his friends. 

"CLEM! Someone's at the gate!"

In an instant, the people inside stood from a picnic table to come see what the fuss was about. There was four who approached you - not including the little boy coming down from his post - two men and two women. One, the most intimidating one, beckoned you to come closer to the gate and you noticed she was on crutches and missing a foot. You couldn't help but stare for a moment and she cleared her throat to catch your attention, glaring at you when you looked back up. 

"Open it."

She ordered the others, hobbling toward you when it was opened. She looked you over carefully and warily - you could see that the others behind her were too - before she spoke.

"Who are you and how did you find this place? We don't see many others around here."

"I actually got here by boat. I fell asleep on the river and woke up when my boat hit the shore. I didn't know anyone was here until I saw your traps, I almost got caught in one."

You were honest and tried to joke with the woman, giving her a light-hearted smile to try to show you weren't a threat. She softened a little but was obviously still wary of you. Anyone would be at the sight of a newcomer, you couldn't blame her.

"Are you part of a group?"

"No, not now. I've been part of plenty but none of them have.. worked out." 

She gave you a sympathetic look.

"I see.. Could you give us a moment?"

You nodded respectfully and watched as she went to speak to her people. You could hear their whispers but couldn't make out anything they were saying, but maybe you shouldn't anyway. It's their business. But then again, it's yours too. This place seemed nice, nicer than most you've seen, and you didn't know if you were ready to get turned away from another group. Being alone was awful and boring and unsafe, so you decided to be a little bold.

"Excuse me?"

You broke into their conversation and earned their attention and you took the quick moment to look them over. There were three boys - one was tall, lithe, and lightskinned with sideswept dreads. He had freckles all over and wore a long brown trenchcoat and you couldn't help but think DAMN when you saw him. He was the only one who didn't look inherently angry or like he was ready to kill you. The other was a little shorter and broader, also lightskinned, but with short hair. He wore a beat up flannel, but it looked nice on him. Then there was the little one, short with an afro and oh-so cute! He was quiet and looked at you like he was ready to shoot if you tried anything and it kinda scared you.

Then the girls. The one who spoke to you made you nervous as hell - both in a "this-bitch-looks-like-she-could-shoot-me-from-500-miles-away-and-still-kill-me" and a "holy-shit-she's-CUTE" type of way - when you looked at her. She wore a beat-up leather jacket and a cute hat with the letter "D" on the front. The other was short and looked very suspicious of you. Her hair was short and white and she wore a purple vest over her clothes. There was a fresh bandage over one of her eyes and the skin around them was littered with tiny scratches but the uncovered eye looked fine. 

These kids looked like they've been through a lot.

"Look, I know that you guys just met me and you all have the right to be wary and to even kick me out, but I promise that I'm not a threat. I'm still a kid, like you guys, and I'm just looking for a home. I'm sick of being alone, it sucks and it's hard and if you guys would let me.. I'd love to stay here. I have plenty to offer! Skills-wise, at least."

You would hopefully - and desperately - practically beg the group to let you stay. You could do much stuff for them! The more people the merrier, right? They exchanged looks among themselves and huddled together again.

"I don't know, I don't really trust her.."

"She seems nice enough, we could test it out and see how she is."

"We could use the extra hands."

"This.. could be good."

The first girl sighed and popped her head up and turned to you.

"Okay, we'll let you stay, but we're going to keep your weapons until we can trust you."

You nodded and unsheathed your knife and took out an empty gun from your bag and handed them right over. She looked a little surprised, but you weren't about to disobey what she asked and get kicked out. You were practically ready to scream you were so happy.

"I'm Clementine, by the way. This is AJ." 

Clementine smiled softly at you and AJ nodded before returning to his post on the wall.

"The boy with the dreads is Louis, the other one is Aasim, and the girl with the white hair is Violet. You'll meet everyone else when we eat dinner and we'll talk to them to see how they feel about all this, too. Sound good?"

"It sounds perfect, you have no idea how grateful I am that you're letting me stay, even if it's just for the time being. Thank you Clementine."

You beamed at her and forced yourself to keep your cool. You could freak out and get excited later when no one was around.

"You're welcome, I just hope you dont make us regret our decision. I'll have Violet show you to your dorm after we eat."

"Got it, sounds good. So, Clementine?"

"Yeah?"

"What is this place called? Like, do you call yourselves anything? I wanna know what I'm getting myself into."

You joked, motioning to everything around you. It was a nice place but it was definitely beat up looking - every place was anymore. Maybe you could change that if they let you stay. You could make this place better than it's ever been, with crops and reinforced walls and repaired buildings. Hell yeah! Clementine laughed a little and looked at her home fondly.

"Welcome to Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth."


	2. Chapter 2

"Troubled youth, huh?"

You would echo Clementine, looking around at the kids outside. Obviously they've all been through a lot, but before the apocalypse? What could they have done to be deemed as troubled? Clementine nodded and began to explain.

"Yeah. Before all this, most of the kids here were put into the school by their parents because of.. issues they had. You'll have to find out for yourself what everyone did to get put in here, I don't think it's my place to tell you, but I promise you that everyone here are good people."

She would look at you with an encouraging smile and you couldn't help but return it, it was contagious. Clementine kinda looked like a bunny rabbit. Cute.

"I just hope they all like me." You joked, but it was a genuine concern. What if they didn't? Would they kick you out? You really hoped not, you liked this place already. "So, what'd you do to get here? Did you beat up a teacher or something?"

Clementine laughed and shook her head. She led you to the stairs infront of the middle building and sat down, setting her crutches on the wall beside her. You settled next to her and listened to her speak.

"No, I wasn't here before everything started. They actually found me by a train station after I crashed my car and blew up the station." She said matter-of-factly, looking at you through the corner of her eye to see your reaction.

"Holy shit Clem, are you serious?" Your jaw practically dropped open. DAMN! How do you blow up an ENTIRE train station? She nodded her head.

"THAT'S SICK!"

The two of you burst into giggles and Clementine let out a breath of air, clenching her hand over her stomach.

"Kinda, yeah. At the time it scared the shit out of me, I thought me and AJ were going to get eaten. That station's infested now but it's useless anyway." She waved her hand dismissively at the thought of the overrun place. "I'm really glad these guys saved me, I don't know where I'd be without them."

"I bet, I don't know what I would've done if I were you in that situation." You said more seriously. A shudder ran over your spine at the thought of an infestation like that.

"So, what's your story? I know about the boat and the river, but how did you get here?" Clementine prompted, looking at you intently. Her eyes shone with interest and she genuinely seemed like she wanted to hear what you had to say. It warmed your heart. You didn't mind speaking about how you got here, sure it hurt to think about those that you've lost and the things that you've had to do but the past is the past, no matter how much it hurts. You learn from it, and you prefered to think about the good times and good people fondly and to push the bad ones away.

"Well-"

You were cut off by the boy with dreads - what was his name... right, Louis! - stomping his way over to the two of you. He looked upset, but more in a fake-dramatic way, lips pouted and arms crossed as he loomed there. You snickered a little at the sight.

"Hellooo! Earth to you two!" Louis waved his hand in front of you and Clementine. She batted his hand away and rolled her eyes. "I called you over like, three times! Dinners ready, come eat." He finished before helping a now standing Clementine get her crutches straightened out. She looked like she wanted to push him away again but let him help, an underlying shine of affection in her eyes. You looked away from them for a moment and only then did you realize that the sun was setting and it was already dark.

"Shit, it's this late already? How long were we talking for?" You said aloud in disbelief. It didn't feel like all that long!

"A good few hours, probably. Nice to meet you, Ms. Talks-alot." Louis joked, flashing you a sarcastic smile. You rolled your eyes and returned it. So he was the jokester of the group. Cute. "I see you're already picking favorites. I'm hurt!" He glanced at Clementine and placed a hand over his heart and touched his forehead with the back of the other. You couldn't hold in your laughter.

"Oh yeah, definitely. Me and Clementine are already bestfriends, sorry Louis, you didn't make it in time!" You retorted, shuffling over to the other girl. You laid your arm across her shoulders and Louis made a sound of disbelief.

"Clementine! How could you! I thought I was your bestie!" He would cry out, both hands on his heart now. Clementine shrugged off your arm with her giggles and she pushed past both you and Louis to go get dinner.

"Just go eat, you goof."

Louis backed up as she passed and chuckled, throwing his hands up in defense as she threw him a dirty look.

"Fine, fine, I see how it is." He said brightly then turned to you. You suddenly became nervous. Louis seemed really nice - he was really funny, and damn was he cute - but would he be different around just you? Guess you'd have to find out. You felt a little out in the open without Clementine. You haven't had to meet new people in a long time, it was nerve-wracking already!

"So, when's the last time you had a hot meal?" Louis asked you while starting to walk toward a picnic table in the courtyard. There, you saw a lot more people than you did earlier and.. a dog? They had a DOG here? You were gonna lose it, this had to be the best day of your damn life. You quickly followed after him.

"Oh, god, I have no idea." You laughed, struggling to think of the last. He tossed his head over his shoulder and grinned.

"Well, you're gonna be having one tonight. Be prepared to meet the gang, they're already staring." He finished in a sing-song type voice and you followed his gaze to the table. Suddenly, you felt very intimidated. Every single person was staring at you, even the dog. Aasim, AJ, and Violet turned away from you and to their food instead after a few moments, but you still felt the other's eyes boring straight into you. You cleared your throat nervously and quickly shuffled into an empty space between AJ and a red-haired girl. The girl gave you a soft side-eye, more curious and wondering than suspicious.

"Who is she?"

A somewhat harsh voice would ask suddenly. You looked down the table to see a boy on the corner, staring at you with a little bit of a glare. You cleared your throat and went to speak but Clementine beat you to it.

"She's going to be joining us. She came from down the river and we found her by the gates. It'll be fine Willy, okay? She's okay." She gave Willy a reassuring smile and mumbled under his breath, obviously unsure of that. You gave Clementine a grateful look and she nodded her head.

"You didn't tell us?"

The girl next to you piped in gently.

"No offense, we just don't get many others around here." She added quickly, giving you an empty smile. You shrugged your shoulders. Clementine sighed.

"I didn't want to alarm anyone, that's why I waited until we all came to eat to introduce her. Do you want to introduce yourself?" She said irritatedly, looking over to you. You figured you didn't have a choice, so you started to speak.

"Well, like Clementine said, I came from down the river a ways. I fell asleep on my ride and I woke up when I bumped into the shore, and now I'm here." You explained, continuing more softly, "I, uh, want you guys to know that you can trust me. I know it might take a while for you to believe that, so take all the time you need. I hope we can all be good friends after a while."

You watched in relief as they untensed a little, easing even in the slightest from your words. The red-haired girl was the first to speak, this time giving you a real smile.

"I'm Ruby, it's nice to meet you. I hope for all that, too." She said hopefully.

"I'm Willy! You seem.. cool. " The small boy hesitantly chimed.

"And I'm Omar." Calmly said the cook. His face was blank as he set a steaming bowl of stew in front of you but you flashed him a thankful look.

"Now you know everybody! And after dinner, I've got a fun thing we can all do.."

Louis quickly - and mischieviously - chirped in, a devious smile taking over his expression. Ruby groaned and stood from the table, setting her empty bowl on a table next to the pot Omar had left.

"I'm going inside." She announced while walking toward the main building. Aasim finished the rest of his stew in the few seconds that she spoke and dashed after her, snatching her hand up to hold it. How sweet. That left Willy, Louis, Violet, AJ, Clementine, and Omar.

"Uh.. what kind of 'fun thing' is this gonna be?" You asked nervously. Violet chuffed and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever stupid game that dumbass comes up with."

"My games aren't stupid! You just don't know how to have fun." Louis denied firmly. Omar creeped quietly around him so he wouldn't be noticed, as if he didn't want to risk getting pulled into Louis' antics for even a moment. The rest of them stayed put, even AJ. You got up and set your bowl in another one after you finished your meal. Louis looked at you with an excited glint in his eyes and pulled a stack of cards from his trenchcoat pocket.

"So, it's.. cards?" You said, a little unimpressed. Louis shook his finger at you and began to hand cards from the deck to all the players, giving you one last. He held onto the card tightly and you struggled to pull it from his hand until he let go, making you stumble back a little. You gave him a dirty look and he gave you a charming smile.

"It's War, truth or dare edition."


	3. Chapter 3

You felt your breath quicken with anticipation.

You haven't played Truth or Dare in forever!

This was either gonna end up really good, really fucking funny, or really bad. You were hoping for the best outcome. 

"So how do you play?" You asked, not really understanding the concept of Truth or Dare with cards. Louis took a card from the pile before replying to you and his eyes lit up. He tried to suppress a smirk but you could see his lips slightly curling up. That couldn't be good.

"So," he started, "each person takes a card from the pile and flips it over. Highest number gets to ask anyone they want any question they want." Then, he placed his card face up on the table. You groaned.

He had a fucking KING. A KING ON THE FIRST CARD!

A game of luck and you were still mad you didn't win. Or did you? You looked down at your card.

Yeah, you didn't. You had a fucking 3 of clubs. Good luck winning with that.

Everyone else threw their cards down, obviously annoyed. No one had anything even equal to that king. Louis threw his hands in the air, letting out a triumphant cheer. You rolled your eyes, watching him tap his chin in thought for a question. He then leaned closer to the table and set his elbows down and layed his head in his hands, staring straight at you. As you met his gaze, you felt your heartbeat speed up. You saw his eyebrow raise and his smile widened knowingly, as if he could feel that he was making you nervous. Stupid cute boy.

"So, new girl," Louis began, drawing circles on the table with his finger, "let's get to know you. Where did you come from? Who took care of you? That kind of stuff."

Oh, wow. You thought that his question was gonna be way worse than that.

You let out a quiet breath of relief and saw genuine interest in the boys eyes as you got ready to speak. How sweet. Looking around the table, everyone else seemed pretty interested too.

"I actually came from Cleveland, up in Ohio." Before you went on, you saw some of their eyes widen and you laughed. "Yeah, it's pretty far from Georgia, right? Me and my group would travel a lot. Anyway, I lived out in fucking yeehaw-ville, man. The closest thing I lived to was a Dairy Queen and a Circle K gas station and a shitty little 'shopping center' across the street from it. It was a cute little neighborhood, like, it wasn't too bad but DAMN was it boring." You laughed, earning some giggles from the group. You hated the place but it was home and you couldn't help but smile thinking about some of the good memories there.

"But right, so when the apocalypse hit, I was with my grandma and grandpa - I lived with them - and we just packed up our shit and went to go get my best friends and the rest of my family. We were so fucking lucky to have got everyone and when I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE. My cousins, my mom and my siblings, my dad and his girlfriend, even my best friends and their families, PLUS our dogs. We had weapons - we lived in the country, everybody had guns - obviously, so we were able to defend ourselves. After we got everyone, we took right off and got far away from anybody and anything."

"We had plenty of supplies and whatever, but we needed shelter. We had too many people to not to. So we drove for a long time, longer than we would've liked in all that chaos, to get to my uncle's place that was even farther out into the country. But the further away from people the better, I guess. That's why we went that way. Plus, he had so much land and animals. He grew crops and shit, too, so we'd all be set."

"So we got there and my Uncle Mike let us all in and there was literally no hesitance before we started building and reinforcing fences and walls and shit. We would watch that one zombie show 'The Rising Dead' every week, so we knew what the fuck we were doing." You stopped to laugh, not realizing how much you'd been talking. It's been so long since you spoke the story, hell - even remembered it, so you got lost in telling it.

"We were fine for so long! Like we really thought we had it in the fucking bag, we handled things so well and were so great. Sure, we'd have fights and we'd get super worried about shit sometimes but we got through so much together. I wanna say we got through a good two years from the start together, just from that one spot!" 

You thought of your time on your uncle's farm warmly, grinning softly at the good memories. You remembered you and your dad taking care of the farm animals together - one time he got too close to one of the horses, specifically the one that didn't like him, and it knocked him flat on his ass. You didn't stop laughing for days. There were times when you sat on the roof of the house stargazing with your best friends trying to make the best of everything, times when you'd chase escaped chickens into their pens and fall into the mud when they'd throw too big of a fuss. Times when you'd read your little brother and sister - little cousin, too - story books you brought along. One day when you finally ran out of new ones and they noticed you had to come up with a whole bunch on your own. Your family was everything to you.

"But.. I guess that sometimes stuff just doesn't last."

You didn't realize that you'd begun to cry.

When you felt the first tear drip from your chin and onto the table you snapped to attention and only then did you remember where you were and what was going on. All eyes were on you - some gazes sad, others thoughtful, as if they were remembering their own stories, but all were sympathetic toward you and it warmed your heart just a little - and you became very uncomfortable. Did you overshare? How long had you even been talking for? Louis caught your eye again and he gave you a look that obviously read 'i'm sorry' and you shook your head to tell him it was fine. You cleared your throat and shuffled in your seat.

"Oh, god, I'm really sorry," you stopped yourself, furiously apologizing, "I didn't mean to talk for so long. I'm not a very good storyteller, I always say way too much." You laughed sheepishly and felt your face heat up and you quickly wiped away any tears lingering on your face.

"But yeah, I was with a lot of people, and then.. I wasn't. I don't know what happened to them, but I can only hope they're okay."

You finished abruptly, deciding that maybe you did overshare and if anyone wanted to know more then you'd tell them - if they asked. Louis reached across the table to you and sympathetically smiled at you before dealing more cards to everyone at the table.

"Cheers to that, girl!" He broke the silence with an encouraging, reassuring shout. You smiled at him thankfully. He wasn't so bad. "Now, let's get this game going!"

Then his smile instantly dropped when he looked down at the card he pulled.

Everyone set theirs down and you looked them over.

5 of hearts... 2 of spades.. 8 of diamonds... and.. ANOTHER KING?!

"I WIN!" 

Clem beamed from across the table, jolting a sleeping AJ awake. He looked confused, then annoyed, and angrily whispered good night to Clementine before sleepily stomping his way to the dorms. She sheepishly told him she was sorry but quickly imersed herself back into the game.

"I've got a good one, for all of you."

"Thats not how you play Truth or Dare, Clem."

"I don't care, it's good!" She shouted at Willy from down the table. He threw up his hands in defense. "So, if you lost one day of your life every time you said a swear, would you stop swearing?"

"Oh, FUCK no!" Violet chimed in an instant, laughing at her own outburst. Clementine giggled beside her with the rest of the group and gave her shoulder a playful push. Violet kept laughing but you could see her face redden and she began to shuffle around a little, looking proud of herself.

"I'm with Violet, HELL NO!" Louis screamed. You looked over to see what Willy had to say, but he disappeared. He probably went to bed.

"I don't think I could ever do that." You agreed brightly, glad to have the topic on something like this. You haven't had this fun in a long time.

The four of you chatted and joked for a little while longer, giggles and snorts and happy voices filling the otherwise silent night. Your heart felt full and happy, you just felt so.. warm and fuzzy all over. You really hoped that this all would last.

Soon enough, Clementine decided she was going to bed. Violet wasn't far behind at all, helping her get onto her crutches and walking alongside her to take her inside.

In that moment, you realized that Clem was supposed to have Violet show you to one of the dorms.

Shit.

Louis watched them go for a moment then stood up from the table and stretched loudly. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, then smiled at you.

"We should probably get to bed, too, you know. Unless you wanted to spend time with your new bestie?" He teased, an underlying tone of hope in his voice. You snickered.

"Oh I'd love to, just don't tell Clementine." You winked at him and he chuckled, pretending to zip his mouth closed. You came over to his side of the table and stood in front of him, subtly looking him up and down. Shit, he was tall.

"Your secret's safe with me." Louis promised, making a cross motion over his chest. Cute, funny, and nice? It was hard not to flirt with him. Unfortunately, you were so tired from everything today and no matter how much you wanted to spend time with your new bestie you feared that you were going to fall asleep where you stood.

"Well, I'm afraid I'll have to get to know my new and secret bestie more tomorrow," you said, noticing a slight droop to Louis' expression, "I'm so fucking tired."

"Wasn't Violet supposed to show you your room?" He asked.

"Yep."

"Did she?"

"Nope."

Louis laughed.

"Well, come on, I'll show you instead. Can't have you sleeping outside, can we?" He lightly grabbed your arm and pulled you along for a moment before you followed in tow through the doors of the building. You felt your face heat up just a little at his touch and for that you were grateful that it was dark. He stopped abruptly in front of a beat up looking door and jiggled the handle to pop it open for you. Louis beckoned you inside and you stepped in, examining the room.

The wallpaper was peeling off and there was two bunk beds on each side of the room with a big desk in the middle. There was a boarded up window above it and a single bookshelf in the left corner of the room by one of the beds. The room was barren of any design or personalization. Yeah, this was definitely a dorm room. You'd have to fix it up sometime.

"So, what do you think?"

Louis asked from behind you, leaning against the door frame. You grinned at him and couldn't contain your excitement any longer, beginning to bounce around the room. You spun around a few times and on your last you flopped hard against the left bed, listening to the springs clang when you hit. You could hear him laughing at your outburst.

"I.. take it you like it?" He snorted lightly. You heard quiet footsteps and saw Louis appear above you with an amused look plastered on his face.

"I fucking LOVE it!" You whisper-yelled, pushing yourself off the bed to sit up. Louis chuckled.

"I'm glad." Warmth seeped from his voice and you smiled so hard you were practically grinning ear to ear.

"Thank you so much, Louis. Thank all of you, really. You have no idea how grateful I am for all this. It means so much to me. I really want to help you guys around here and I really hope that we can become friends." You dropped off into a more serious tone, looking up at the boy with thankful eyes. He beamed down at you and nodded.

"Of course, I'm glad we found someone like you. I really feel like you're gonna be great here." He admitted, beginning to walk toward the open door. You felt hopeful and happy from his words. Today truly was a miracle. "I'm gonna get some sleep too, okay? If you need anything, come find me or Clem. I'm to the right, she's to the left." He informed you. You nodded and flopped back down onto the bed.

"Goodnight, bestie." He teased softly.

You giggled.

"Goodnight, Louis."


	4. Chapter 4

You woke up slowly the next morning, opening your eyes before the sun had even rose.

You couldn't have cared less at waking up so early, because you woke up in a BED. When's the last time you slept in a bed? You had no clue.

So you layed there for a few more hours underneath your blankets, falling in and out of sleep until the soft morning light shone through your broken window and onto your face. A light spring breeze whirled into your room and ruffled your blankets and hair as if it were telling you it's time to get up. 

You hummed contently and sleepily got out of bed, taking a quiet moment to look over your room again. It was so barren and, dare you say it, pretty ugly. You decided that you'd decorate it with all sorts of stuff when you got the chance. No room of yours was going to be ugly.

You stretched and yawned quietly and peeked out of your boarded window, seeing that Violet and AJ were already awake too. Not wanting to seem lazy, you decided you'd go outside and talk to them and see if there was anything you could do to help around the school. You walked toward your door and popped it open.

As you stepped outside, you rammed straight into Louis and you both fell onto the floor with a loud THUMP.

"Fuck!"

You groaned as his head clonked against yours. He swore under his breath and shut his eyes firmly, rubbing where his head got hit. It took you a moment to realize - your heads hit pretty hard - what had happened and when you went to push yourself off the ground and felt Louis' chest instead of the floor is when it hit you. Your face flushed red in an instant and you quickly pulled yourself up, furiously apologizing.

"Oh god, I didn't see you, I didn't mean to do that, shit, I'm so sorry!"

Louis let a pained chuckle escape him as he sat up on his elbows. He looked up at you and you offered him your hand to help him up. You felt terrible that you knocked him over but he didn't seem to be inherently upset or mad at you. You began to say you were sorry again, but he cut you off before you could.

"If you wanted my attention you could've just asked, you know. I know you were excited to see your me today but you didn't need to knock me over." Louis teased, throwing a wink at you while he dusted himself off. You struggled to respond and stumbled over your words and he laughed at you. You gave him a dirty look. "I'm kidding!" He snickered, throwing his hands up in defense. "But seriously, it's fine."

You didn't exactly know what to say, still a little flustered, so you mumbled a quiet 'okay' and turned from him to go outside and find something to do. As you opened the door and walked down the steps, you heard someone following you and tossed your head over your shoulder to look. It was Louis. He gave you a toothy smile and you rolled your eyes.

What a great way to start your day. Stupid cute boy.

"Hey!" Called Violet from across the courtyard. She beckoned you over to her and AJ by a dim lit fire that AJ was poking at with a stick. It sputtered embers and smoke with every jab. "Can you two go check the fish shack? I was gonna ask Aasim to go with Willy but he's already out with Ruby." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"They probably just wanted some alone time. Let the boy get some, Violet!" Louis laughed, coming up behind you. Violet groaned.

"I don't even want to think about that, thanks so much. Just go check the shack!" She ordered and turned back to AJ. She sighed, sat down, and resumed her conversation with the little boy. You noticed he kept glancing at you so you waved and smiled at him warmly. He returned it with a little 'hi' and continued to poke at the fire. You felt your heart explode. AJ was so cute!

Louis scooped a bow off the table next to Violet and motioned for you to follow him out of the gates.

"Come on, I'll show you where it is." He said, fiddling with the weapon in his hands. You trailed behind him along a path through the forest, riddled with leaves and pine needles and tracks left behind by little critters roaming the area. Louis whistled pleasantly as you walked then twirled around to face you - still walking.

"So, are you excited?" He asked.

"For what?"

"To spend some time with your new bestie!" He chimed with a laugh. You couldn't help but chuckle, too. He was just so.. cute. "You even get me alone, how fun does that sound?" Louis winked then turned back around and dropped back to meet your pace. 

"Oh, don't even get me started," you giggled sarcastically and lightly shoved his shoulder, "I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world."

Louis placed his hand over his heart as if it were the sweetest thing he'd ever heard.

"I'm so touched! You really mean that?" 

"Could I ever lie to you?" A grin couldn't help but curl onto your lips and you and Louis burst into laughter. 

"You're silly." He remarked, more to himself than you. He turned his head away from you now, eyes now on the shack the two of you were approaching, but you could still see the smile on his face.

"Can't be sillier than you." You retorted truthfully. He shrugged his shoulders and tossed his head from side to side like he agreed.

"So, this is the shack?" You asked. Louis nodded. The place was large, more like a small house than a shack, and looked beat up and dilapidated just like everything else around Ericson's. It smelled REALLY bad, too. "It's.. nice." You said with a hesitant pause. It really wasn't.

"Don't lie. It's ugly as fuck." Louis snorted, and you instantly agreed. "But come on, the spears are inside." He took the lead again and popped the door to the shack open. The nasty fish smell got just a little bit stronger and you didn't know if you wanted to stay at the school anymore if you had to do this all the time. He looked at you with a hint of amusement in his eyes as you put your shirt over your nose to block out the smell. "You get used to it, trust me." He laughed.

You left the door open on your way in to let some of the smell out - if it could ever go away - and Louis passed you a large spear when you stepped inside. It was sturdy, strong, and had a bad ass looking tip. You felt like a caveman going out to hunt a mammoth. OOGA BOOGA.

"Spear fishing is my SHIT, Louis," excitement flooded your voice as you handled the tool, "these fish don't stand a chance." You said confidently and practically ran out the door - half because you really wanted to do something productive and half because you needed to get away from that smell. 

Louis sauntered after you with his own spear, watching as you jumped on a rock at the bank of the river. He set his spear tip to the ground and rested his head on the blunt side, gazing at you intently while you got into a power stance to fuck up the fish in the river. You struggled not to scare them away and waited not so patiently for a good opportunity to appear.

He couldn't help but stare at you for a few moments. You were adorable, funny and ever so fun to mess with - fun to flirt with, too. He was lucky to be out here with you instead of Aasim like he usually was. Louis smiled softly to himself. He felt happy to have you at the school, it was good to have someone new and even better to have someone like you. 

Louis broke out of his trance when you let out an excited cry. He jumped a little and almost lost his grip on his spear but quickly regained his posture. You turned toward him with a triumphant grin, a good sized fish on the tip of your spear.

"HAH! I GOT ONE!" You placed one hand on your hip and sneered at Louis, pointing at him with the fish. "Where's yours, huh, slacker?" You challenged. He gasped and stomped toward the river to stand on a rock next to yours.

"Slacker?! How dare you, do you not see the fish I just caught?"

"Nope." You shook your head.

"Well, it's right.. oh my god, what is that?" Louis looked alarmed and pointed behind you. You followed his point and when you looked back, the fish that was on your spear was now in Louis's hand.

"It's right here." He finished, looking proud of himself. "Looks like you lost yours, I wonder what could've happened to it."

"That's MY fish! You stole it!" You laughed while accusing him. Could this boy get any sillier? You dropped your spear on the ground and came toward him to get it back but he instantly dropped his, too, and took off running with your fish still in his hands. "HEY! COME BACK HERE!" You cried and chased after him.

"IT'S MY FISH NOW!" He shouted back. You could hear the flopping and squelching of the fish in his grasp while he ran and it made you laugh ten times harder. Louis dashed into the shack and tried to shut the door before you could get in. You quickly dove inside to get him but ended up tumbling over your own feet. You hit the wood floor with a groan but stood up as quickly as you could and wildly looked around for Louis. He was gone and the door was wide open but you could see his dreads peeking out from a tree not far from where you stood.

"I'm gonna get my fish back if it's the last thing I ever do, Louis!" You called out menacingly, trying to force back your giggles. You creeped toward the tree and tried your hardest to make it look like you hadn't seen him. Louis noticed, however, and went to sprint toward the river to get away from you before you could catch him.

"Never!" He howled. You quickly caught up to him this time - it must've been the fish giving you the power to run faster. You made a daring lunge at him when you were close enough and grabbed him by the arm and both of you came to an abrupt stop. 

"I got you now! You and MY fish!" Your voice came out shaky but proud as you struggled to catch your breath. Louis panted heavily and ran his empty hand over his hair. All that.. for a fish.

"Alright, alright, you got me." He said, offering you the shaken-up fish. You went to take it from his grasp but he instantly retracted his hand and grinned.

"SIKE!"

Louis hollered and started to run again. With a betrayed gasp, you side-stepped in alarm in front of him to try and catch him before he got away. He kept running, however, and knocked right into you.

With a loud SPLASH, you both tumbled right into the stream.

Your head thunked against the bank and water splashed into your mouth when you hit, thankfully the stream was low today, and you sputtered the liquid out - accidentally spitting it all over Louis's chest. Louis was sprawled out over top of you, practically tangled up with you, and the both of you were absolutely soaked as the light waves of the stream splashed around you. 

His face was very close to you and when his gaze met yours, you felt yourself flush. You sat there for a moment, neither of you daring to move, and you could swear your heart was going to beat out of your chest. How on earth could this happen two times in one day?

"Uh.." You started quietly, unsure of what to say. "So.. what happened to my fish?"

Louis laughed lightly and scratched the back of his neck guiltily.

"I might've dropped it when I knocked you over." He admitted. You smacked him gently on the arm and scolded him. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. At least he get's to be free with all his fishy friends again."

"Louis, he was dead."

"Well.. he's in the fishy afterlife now." He decided firmly, a nervous but delighted smile on his face. You wanted to say something to get Louis off you, but he didn't seem to want to move. Honestly? Neither did you, but the stream was way too cold to stay like this.

"Uh, Louis? You can get off of me now." You hesitantly spoke first. You shivered as the cold water passed over you again. He seemed to snap out of a trance and nodded in response. Louis stood up and took your hand to help you out of the water. 

"Right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to knock you over, or lose your- MY fish." He 'corrected' himself with a not-so-nervous-anymore smirk. You rolled your eyes and lightly shoved him before being overcome by another shiver. That river water was so cold!

"It was MY fish, excuse you, Mr. Slacker." You snorted. "My main concern is what the hell I'm gonna do with these clothes when we get back. I don't have anything else to wear but I don't wanna wear wet clothes and I'm not trying to run around butt ass naked while they dry!" You frustratedly cried out. Louis laughed at you and you shot him the dirtiest look. "It's your fault, so don't laugh!" He laughed some more.

"You can have some of the extra stuff we have at the school so don't worry," he assured you, "the clothes might be a little.. dusty, but you'll look good in them either way."

You smiled coyly and shrugged your shoulders.

"..but seeing you run around butt ass naked wouldn't be half bad."

"LOUIS SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU'RE NASTY!"

The two of you spent the entire way back joking and laughing with each other..

..Violet was gonna be pissed that you didn't bring back any fish.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a quick authors note,
> 
> hey guys! i'm so glad you're liking the story so far!! this is the first work i've published in a long time and it makes me so happy to see that you guys are enjoying it. it means a lot and it's really inspiring to me! i'll be coming up with an actual update schedule soon, that way you guys aren't left in the dark wondering when i'm gonna update. i want to try for two chapters a week!
> 
> but if you guys have any input or suggestions or just anything to say, don't be afraid to share! it makes me really happy to see your guys' comments. thank you for reading! <3

"ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS!?"

Violet was yelling at you the moment you and Louis explained yourselves. She was just as pissed as you thought she'd be but you couldn't care less - your fishing endeavor with Louis was too fun to care and he didn't seem to mind either. He stared at Violet with a light smile toying at his lips which seemed to just make her angrier.

"Can you take this serious for once, Louis?" She hissed with crossed arms, her foot lightly tapping the ground impatiently. "You two could've scared off all the fish in that stream. What are we supposed to do if we don't have any fish? Sure we have the rabbit traps, but we need fish too!" Violet threw her arms in the air to emphasize how important it was. At this point you felt a little guilty. Ericsons did need their fish and you and Louis were pretty dumb to do that even if it was fun, but you doubted that you scared away every single fish in the river.

"What's going on here?"

You turned to see Clementine and AJ standing close by. You flashed her a sheepish smile and she narrowed her eyes at you, then looked at Violet.

"I sent these two out to go catch some fish for tonight and instead of doing as they were told, they decided to take a swim in the river." Violet explained and motioned to your clothes. You and Louis were still soaked, your clothes damp and dripping. Clementine sighed and rolled her eyes. Something told you that she wasn't surprised, at least with Louis.

"Seriously, guys? We need that food. You can mess around all you want when you're here, but when you're out hunting you need to take it seriously." With Clem's scolding, you felt even more guilty. You nodded softly and told her you were sorry and that it wouldn't happen again. She nodded back at you, then came toward Violet to murmur something into her ear. You could see her face heat up a little and had to hold back a smile.

"Me, Violet, and AJ are going to go out and check further down the river," Clementine announced out loud, "you two stay here and keep watch until Ruby and Aasim get back. Rosie and Daisy need to be fed, too."

"You got it, boss." Louis chirped, saluting her as the three of them walked past. Violet gave him a light push and AJ gave him a hug before following after. HE'S SO CUTE.

You let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through your hair after they exited the gates, sitting down on the top of a nearby picnic table.

"You okay? Still mad that you didn't catch any fish?" Louis teased, breaking the light silence. You smiled lightly and shook your head.

"It was MY fish, but whatever you say," you huffed playfully, "but I just feel stupid! I shouldn't be messing around so much if I want to stay here. Clementine seemed so mad." Your tone turned more serious and a little frustrated. Maybe you were just a little too anxious, though, because it wasn't nearly as bad as you thought. Louis chuckled and shook his head.

"You clearly haven't seen Clem mad, then." He stated as he came to sit next to you on the table. You looked over to him and his gaze softened reassuringly when he layed his eyes on you. "Trust me, it's fine. She's not gonna kick you out over something this small." Louis sounded sure of what he said, it made you feel a little bit better and a lot less worried.

"Okay, I really hope so." You said quietly, thanking him. He only smiled and nodded. You could already tell that Louis was such a sweetheart. "I'm glad to hear, because honestly? That fishing adventure was so fucking fun." With a more light-hearted tone, you nudged him gently with your elbow and pulled back your lips in a bright smile. 

"Hell yeah it was!" Louis agreed cheerfully, "It was totally worth getting yelled at by Violet." You giggled and nodded your head, looking up at him enthusiastically.

"You're fun." You gently remarked, half to yourself and half to him. His expression turned almost bashful and he laughed quietly.

"So are you." He countered, his tone switching up to be more playful. "But next time we go fishing, let's try to actually catch them, okay?" You shot him a glare.

"I was catching some until you-"

You were cut off by Willy screaming at you from across the courtyard.

"STOP BEING GROSS OVER THERE! YOU JUST MET HER, LOUIS!" 

In that moment, you realized that you had unconciously put your hand on Louis's knee. He hadn't bothered to move it. That's sweet- WAIT. HE WAS RIGHT, YOU DID JUST MEET, WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

In an embarassed panic you quickly snatched your hand back and smacked it down on the table, not knowing where else to put it. Louis glared over at Willy who was laughing his dick off.

"I'M GROSS?! YOU'RE ONE TO TALK, SHUT UP WILLY!" He shouted back. Willy didn't seem to hear. Or care, for that matter.

There seemed to be backstory to Louis's reply, but personally? You didn't want to know it.

Smoothing his damp coat, he turned back to you with an apologetic smile and scooted off the table. "So, let's go get some different clothes, then we'll go feed the animals. Okay?" You stood up to follow him as he began walking to the dorms.

"Sounds good- wait, you said animals?" You paused, putting emphasis on the 's'.

"Yeah, animals." He replied matter-of-factly.

"I remember seeing a dog when I got here but.. you have more animals?"

"Well, one more. We have a horse."

"A FUCKING HORSE? LOUIS, YOU'RE KIDDING." In your excitement, you leaped in front of him and grasped him tightly by his coat, giving him a light shake. "WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GET A HORSE?!"

He laughed and gently pushed you away, picking up his pace to get to the dorms faster. "The quicker we get those clothes, the quicker I can show you."

You sprinted past him and swung the door open.

"WELL COME ON THEN!" You cried impatiently. He chuckled outside and hurried to catch up.

When you got into the building, Louis showed you to his room to get you some fresh clothes. He said he didn't want to go into any of the girls' rooms to get theirs because he didn't want to get his ass beat, so he told you he'd let you borrow some of his until yours dried. While he picked some out of his drawers you took a little time to look around his room.

It was very similar to yours but there was one bunk bed instead of two. The dresser was at the end of the bed and his closet was on the wall opposite to it. Both his dresser and closet were full of little trinkets and things and you noticed there was a few cute drawings tacked onto the wall. They were brightly colored and you smiled while looking at them.

"Did AJ draw these?" You asked, pointing up at the art. When Louis looked up, you saw a flash of sadness in his eyes and he answered hesitantly.

"..Some of them, yeah." A hint of sorrow seeped through his voice. "Do you like them?"

"I do! They're really cute." You said brightly. More curiously, you added. "Who drew the other ones?" Louis sighed deeply and you started to regret asking.

"We used to have a kid named Tennessee here. We called him Tenn," he said wistfully, "he used to draw all the time. We all have some of his art hanging up."

"..Used to?" You asked faintly.

"Yeah." He frowned softly and finally scooped a shirt and a pair of jeans out of the drawer. You murmured that you were sorry but he shook his head with a forgiving smile. "You didn't know." He quietly assured you before handing you the clothes.

"I'll meet you back over at your room." Louis said, taking some clothes for him out as well. You nodded and shut the door behind you before heading back to your room in the dorm. You smacked yourself on the forehead.

"Dumbass, why'd you have to go and ask, you probably just made him upset- OH!" You came to a very sudden stop and nearly dropped the clothes you had on the floor.

Infront of you was Ruby and Aasim. Against the wall. Making out. Like, bad. Great.

"SHIT HEY GUYS DON'T LET ME INTERRUPT NICE TO SEE YOU HAHA HAVE A GOOD EVENING." You practically screamed as you sprinted past them into your room, covering your eyes with the shirt in your hands. You didn't turn back to see if they left and slammed the door behind you. "WHAT THE FUCK."

Dragging your hand down your face, you tried to toss the thought of what just happened away. Get some Aasim, BUT NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING DORMS. Shaking yourself off, you layed the things Louis gave you on your bed. Oh, these are actually pretty cute.

The shirt was a white-and-red baseball t-shirt that was beat up and a little grayed with age but cute nonetheless. When you put it on and looked in the mirror, you saw there was an Ericsons school logo with the number '08' on the back. The jeans you slipped into were very ripped and you couldn't tell if it was just the style or from the hardships of the apocalypse. You decided it was from both. Looking back into the mirror you also decided that you looked fucking CUTE and part of you hoped that Louis would let you keep them.

Outside, you could hear Aasim yelling and some laughs. Louis was gonna have a field day with that incident. After it quieted, you heard a knock on the door and came to open it.

Louis stood in the doorframe - still laughing - in his fresh clothes and you swore under your breath. He wore an olive green button up with the sleeves rolled up and dark blue jeans. Even in something so simple he looked gorgeous. Like SHIT. You were sure he was speaking to you but you didn't hear a word. Was your mouth watering?

"Helloo?" You heard, breaking out of your trance, as his hand waved over your face. You snapped to attention and looked up at him, praying that your face wasn't red. "Are you ready?"

"Oh, right, yeah!" You waved your hand dismissively and stepped out of your room. "Lead the way, because I have zero idea where we're going." You laughed nervously and ushered him infront of you as you recovered from your "how-can-a-boy-I-just-met-be-this-fucking-hot-to-me" moment. Louis gave you an odd look but began to lead you outside.

"So, I heard you finally got to properly meet Ruby and Aasim." He snorted.

"Oh my god, don't remind me." You groaned, causing Louis to break into another fit of laughter.

"I told you my boy Aasim was getting some!"

"He shouldn't be getting pussy in the middle of the dorms, though!" You retorted. He only laughed harder.

As you rounded the corner of the building, you saw a slightly overgrown greenhouse at the side of the school. Interest bubbled in you and you decided you'd talk to Clem about it later. Maybe you could start growing things in there, it didn't look like it'd been touched in a while. Suddenly you heard a loud bark and quick footsteps rushing toward you. When you looked over, you saw a HUGE ass dog. She was big, muscular, and looked like she could eat you alive. YOU LOVE HER ALREADY.

"Oh my GOD!" You gasped and dropped to the ground to get to her level. She seemed wary of you for a moment but after you let her smell your palm she turned into the biggest, most muscular puppy you'd ever seen. "Who's a good girl?" You sang at her, scratching and petting all over her fur. She grumbled contently, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth.

"Oh my god, I love her so much." You murmured, more to yourself than anyone else, practically on the verge of tears. Such happy, happy tears. SHE'S SO CUTE. "What's her name?"

"This is Rosie." He chuckled and sat down next to you to join the petting session. "I'm glad to see she likes you."

"Oh, me fucking too." You grinned toothily and bent down to give Rosie a kiss on her forehead. She lapped at your face and you had to hold back a squeal. "She's the best girl."

"Save some love for the horse, too!" Louis stood up and pointed over at a makeshift stable where said horse stood, grazing on what grass was around. He gave you his hand to help you up and you could barely believe that this wasn't a dream. They really did have a horse! The mare was a beautiful chestnut brown with a white diamond on her forehead. She looked a little skinny, but strong, and staring at her reminded you of your uncle's farm and his horses. You smiled softly at the thought and approached her, giving her a gentle pat on her neck. You didn't want to scare her and have her kick the shit out of you so going slow was the way to go.

"So this one's Daisy?" You asked quietly, bending down to give Rosie - who was bumping against your legs to get your attention - some scratches on her head too. Louis hummed a 'yes' and you grinned. "You look like a Daisy," you murmured to the horse, "so what do we feed them? There isn't a whole lot of grass around for her. Do you have meat for Rosie?"

"We have plenty of food for them, don't worry." Louis responded and walked past you to pull half a bale of hay from behind Daisy's stable. He took a few heavy handfuls and put them on the ground in front of her. He stroked her mane as she began to eat, a loving smile on his face. "We feed Rosie whatever meat we catch but we try to keep her on rabbit and squirrel and stuff. Whenever we feed her fish her breath smells like shit." 

You laughed and crouched down to pet Rosie again, squeezing her flabby cheeks.

"I think she smells just fine." You retorted, but as you spoke she breathed in your face and you realized Louis was right. She really did smell like shit. You coughed and gagged and he cackled above you like some evil witch. "I take it back!" You cried.

"Yeah, I bet you do," he snickered and gave the dog a proud pat on the head, "but let's go find her something to eat. I think I heard the gates open so Clem and the gang should be back."

You wiped tears from your eyes and stood up. "Already?" Night already began to take over, the moon was up and you could see the stars beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky. "Huh. Well, I needed to talk to her so I hope they're all back." You said, thinking back to the greenhouse. Ericsons was nice - amazing, really - and you loved it already but you thought of all the things you could do to make it even better. Maybe you were just a dreamer, but you had so many ideas. You could reinforce those beat up walls, renovate the dorms, put that greenhouse to good use, turn some land into farmland for crops, expand your walls. 

You were definitely... ambitious with the way you thought, to say the least.

Baby steps first, buddy. You were lucky your family had taught you how to do some pretty useful shit when you were with them - building being some of it. You hoped you could actually do it, though, and that Clem would allow you to.

"Ooh," Louis chirped in interest, "what do you need to talk to her about?" He gave Daisy one last pat on the head before following you to the gates.

"Stuff about the school. I wanna see what I can do to help out more here." You replied. Excitement pooled in your voice and you practically rushed out front to see if the group had gotten home. To your luck, you saw Clementine alone tending to a growing fire. Perfect! "I'm gonna go talk to her, I'll see you later. Thank you for the clothes, Louis!" You beamed at him and gave Louis a quick wave over your shoulder while making a b-line to Clem. She looked up and smiled when she saw you coming.

"Hey, do you need something? You look like you're on a mission." She teased, patting the empty spot next to her on the bench. You sat down next to her and nervously fiddled with your hands.

"Yeah, actually. I wanted to talk to you about something important."

A more attentive look appeared on her face and she turned her body toward you, motioning with a hand for you to go on. You began excitedly, hoping she'd take what you had to say well. You knew you had just showed up at the school recently but you wanted Clementine and the rest of the kids to know that you wanted to pull your weight around Ericsons and take it serious - well, as serious as you could. With Louis around, it was a little hard to take anything seriously, but it was just so fun. He was so fun.

"So, I've been thinking. Since I got here I've noticed everything is a little.. rough." You struggled to come up with a non-rude word that Clem wouldn't take to offense about Ericsons, but she only nodded in agreement. "Well, I'd like to help change that."

"..What do you mean?"

You cleared your throat and tried to find the words for your many thoughts.

"Okay, so listen. I know I just got here, but I want you to know that I love this place already. I don't know if I'm already to attached to it so much because I've just been alone for so long, or if it's because of you guys, or god knows what. All I know is that Ericsons is fucking great and I really want to do anything I can to help around here - and I want to make this place better than it already is."

"And I mean like, renovations and shit, you know? We could remake the dorms, fix up that greenhouse, turn the land outside into farmland for crops, expand the walls!" You were swept away, enamored, by your fantasy and enthusiastically waved your arms around while you spoke. When Clementine didn't reply, you glanced at her and saw a look of deep thought on her face. She looked unsure, nervous even, and only then did you realize how bold your little speech was. You cleared your throat and quickly apologized.

"Shit, I'm sorry," you chuckled nervously and scratched the back of your neck, "I shouldn't have thrown all that out there like that. I know it's a lot, especially from someone you barely know. I've just been wanting a place to call home for so long and Ericsons it just.. it feels so right." A wistful sigh escaped your lips as you thought back to your family on the farm. "I've always wanted to build some invincible sanctuary and I kinda just got taken away by that fantasy for a second. I'm sorry, I jumped way too far ahead of myself." You finished with another bashful laugh and got up to return to your room in the dorms but Clementine gently grabbed your arm to stop you.

"You're right, that was really bold of you to say." She began honestly, pausing to think. "We've never done anything like that and the stuff you're suggesting could be really dangerous to try to do, but at the same time it could be really good for us. Do you even know how to build, or to do any of the stuff you said?"

You nodded. "My family taught me. We were always doing some sort of project around the farm and everyone took their part on it, whether it was building, reinforcing the fences, or doing some shit to the land." Clementine hummed under her breath and lightly tapped her foot on the ground.

"Well, you really gave me something to think about, huh?" She rubbed her temple, laughing tensely. "I'll see about it and talk to the others, okay? And I mean this in no offense, because I actually really like you so far, but I want to wait a while before you do anything serious. We all want to know that we can really trust you before anything."

"Yeah! Yeah, I understand, that's fine!" You replied almost breathlessly, a little surprised that she didn't get upset with you. You mentally told yourself to stop being so worried all the time and made another mental note that Clementine seriously was the baddest bitch. You could just tell she was, bad bitch energy radiated off of her like it was nothing. Clem was sick as fuck.

"Thank you again for everything, by the way. I'm so grateful that you guys letting me stay here, I mean it." You said more softly, thankfulness shining in your voice. "All of you guys are really cool."

"Of course, just don't make us regret it." She teased. You put your hands up in defense and crossed your heart in a promise, a playful smile tugging at your lips.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

 

A few hours had passed since your conversation with Clem and you were relieved to finally be eating dinner, even if it was rather late. Omar seriously was a great chef! Sure, most of the time it was just rabbit stew but it was some damn good rabbit stew. If schools ever opened up again, you suggested to him that he should teach an apocalypse cuisine class. He cracked a little bit of a laugh and you felt very proud of yourself for it. He was so quiet, but he was really nice from what you've seen so far. Everyone was. You hoped that eventually everyone would like you as much as you liked them.

After dinner, the night pleasantly began to quiet as everyone started to head to their rooms. You, Louis, Violet, and AJ were the last to go and before you went to part from them, AJ tapped you on the shoulder to get your attention.

"Here!" He chirped and handed you a sheet of paper. "I heard you saying your room was ugly earlier, so I hope this can make it better."

It was a drawing of you, Daisy, Rosie, and Louis all together by the greenhouse. For his age it was actually really good and so, so cute! All of you were smiling and the colors were so bright that just looking at it made your heart swell with joy. It was so sweet! He must've done this during dinner while you were telling everyone about how much you loved the animals when Louis showed you them earlier. 

You looked down at him with a warm, toothy grin. "Thank you so much! I really like it, this is gonna make my room a lot better. I'll put it up as soon as I get there, thanks AJ." He smiled and nodded, happily walking past you to Clem's dorm. "Such a sweetie." You murmured to yourself, looking over the paper again. 

When you got to your room you tacked AJ's drawing on the wall next to your bed, then climbed underneath your blankets, too tired to do anything else. Your heart was full and warm and it helped you drift right off to sleep.

Ericsons really did feel like home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! i finally figured out an update schedule for verdance!
> 
> there'll be two chapters that come out every week, one on every tuesday and saturday! 
> 
> this won't change unless i'm going on a hiatus or i absolutely need to put a change in my schedule. i'll try really hard to keep this up, i really enjoy writing it and i'm glad you guys enjoy reading it!
> 
> chapter six will be available this saturday on april 20, 2019.
> 
> thank you guys so much for reading verdance, it genuinely means so much to me. if you have anything you'd like to share, don't be afraid to leave a comment or message me!
> 
> thank you again, you guys are the best <3

It had been a few weeks since your conversation with Clementine - and fishing endeavor with Louis - and you didn't think Ericsons could get any better. You'd grown closer to the other kids and it made you so happy. Although they could all get crazy or mean or weird as hell, you really were starting to love them. 

Well.. you were working on Willy. After you found out why he came to the school in the first place you avoided him for a few days. You still kind of are, but don't tell Willy that.

You absolutely adored Clementine, and she really took a liking to you, too. She was fun and nice, but so bad ass and cool. You spent a lot of time with her and AJ, talking nonsense and playing games. AJ was such a sweetheart, you learned, and you took him out to check traps and patrol a lot at Clem's request. He drew you a lot more pictures to put on your wall and sometimes you'd draw with him. Somehow, he was a better artist than you. But did you mind? Not at all. Violet would tag along a lot, too, and through her mean shell she was actually really cool. She was funny and sweet but damn could she have an attitude. You loved it.

Omar was always a little quiet and didn't talk to you much but you tried your best to get him to warm up to you. He was sweet and funny when he spoke and an absolutely wonderful cook. You tried not to ask him anything when he's cooking, though - one time you asked him when the food would be done a little too many times and he got pretty mad at you.

When the two of you got past the embarassment of their makeout moment in the halls, you found that Ruby and Aasim were super cool. Aasim liked to take you out hunting, he said you were a good partner and were good with a bow. He was still jittery and embarassed over the incident for a while but you laughed at him and said it was fine. He was nice to talk to! Ruby, on the other hand, was one of the sweetest people you'd ever seen. She was even sweeter to Daisy. You'd often go to take care of Daisy or check out the fishing lodge just to get away and talk. Boys were often a subject and hearing Ruby talk about her lover was so cute. She seemed so in love with him. One time, she asked you about Louis when you were cleaning Daisy's stall and you reeled back so hard you almost fell in a pile of shit. Ruby still teases you about that - and him.

Now, Louis was a completely different story.

You and him had grown especially close and spent a lot - if not most - of your time together. He was so silly and fun, it was hard to not be constantly smiling or laughing when you were around him and he took great pride in being able to make you so happy all the time. You began to really care about Louis and you couldn't help but notice that your heart beat just a little faster every time you were around him. He was so sweet and always made sure that you were okay but never missed an opportunity to tease you or poke fun at you. 

God, just thinking about him made your stomach flutter.

While you were in bed, your thoughts began to wander and one of your favorite memories with Louis came to mind. A few days ago, in the middle of the night, the beautiful chime of a piano drifted from down the hall into your room. You thought you were still dreaming or perhaps imagining things but you were, pleasantly, wrong.

You got out of bed to investigate the chiming from down the hall, a little confused. Did they have a piano here? It was a school, after all, so they'd have instruments, but would it still even work after all this time? You supposed you'd just have to find out. You creeped down the corridor and finally made it to a large doorway, one of the doors was slightly ajar and the music was a little louder now that you were so close. You were somewhat surprised you'd never been in this room, AJ and Violet had shown you around the whole school but not this place. With a quiet, tired hum you took the doorknob in your hands, opened it slowly, and peeped your head inside. 

Inside was Louis sitting at a piano, his fingers elegantly pressing each key with wondering finesse. He'd pause every few moments as if in thought before going on to continue whatever song he was playing, the music was gorgeous and it unconsciously drew you further into the room. You stood there watching him for a little while, enamored by the boy and his music. It was almost as beautiful as he was.

"I didn't know you could play." You said quietly to let him know that you were there. He practically jumped out of his skin at the sound of your voice and yanked his hands from the piano to cover his beating heart - you had to cover a giggle.

"You scared the shit out of me!" Louis breathed shakily, glaring at you from across the room. Your laugh escaped and he furrowed his brows deeper at you. You apologized, still laughing, as you approached him and sat down on the bench next to him. He turned his head away from you with his arms crossed like he was ignoring you but you could see his frown struggling not to turn into a smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," you said pleadingly, forcing back more giggles, "I just wanted to see what the noise was - I heard you playing from my room. You're really good."

Louis finally cracked and turned back toward you, a bashful smile on his face. "You think so?" He asked. "Everyone always says it's annoying." With a finger, he pointed to the side of the piano. Carved into the wood was "YOU SUCK". You nodded your head.

"You should scratch that out, it's not true." You responded, standing from the bench to look at the carving. Taking your knife from its sheathe, you quickly replaced the scratches with a smiley face. Louis's smile grew as you came to sit back down and you felt your heart swell. "It's really pretty, plus I haven't heard music in forever. What's that song called?" You asked curiously, examining the keys of the piano. They were yellowed with age and use, as was the entire piano, but the entire instrument looked well cared for. Louis must look after it, you assumed.

He fidgeted slightly at your question. "Well, it doesnt have a name yet." You gave him a confused look. "It isn't finished- I'm still writing it."

"Wait, you wrote it? You can play piano and write songs?" You returned, impressed. Funny, cute, nice, and can play music? What a man. "That's so cool! You really are the whole package" You laughed and nudged his arm but quickly shrunk when Louis looked at you with a raised brow. A soft, teasing smile was on his face along with.. wait, was he blushing? You had to be imagining things.

"'The whole package', huh?" he echoed, bumping your arm back, "what's that mean?"

"I was, uh, kidding! It was a joke, I was joking, haha! Funny, right?" Flustered, you'd sputter out your words almost incoherently as you thought of something to say. Heat rose to your face and you silently prayed that the night would hide it. Louis chuckled and shook his head.

"Calm down, jumpy, I'm messing with you." He not-so-helpfully soothed, his hands returning to the piano keys. You huffed at him. "Do you wanna hear what I have so far?" Louis asked softly, almost sounding nervous. He probably was, you thought, with everyone else saying his music was bad. You nodded enthusiastically and he began slowly, fingers delicately pressing each key. He became less tense as he became wrapped in his song, swaying along to the notes with a proud smile. 

Louis's song was beautiful and you thought to be mad at those who discouraged him from playing but soon forgot anything else but him. You were lulled by the tune and soon found yourself falling both into and for him. You pressed lightly against his side and felt him tense but quickly relax, scooting just a little bit closer to you and nervously continuing to play. You felt sleepy but oh so awake, never wanting to move from this very spot. You could stay there with Louis for hours, listening to him quietly hum along with his notes. His head softly bumped against yours as he leaned further into you and you could've sworn your heart was going to beat out of your chest. It almost hurt for your heart to feel so full. 

Unfortunately, like all things, his song came to an end - but neither of you dared to move. A quiet comfort filled the room and your nerves seemed to fade as you sat pressed against him, but your mind was still running a million miles a minute. Your thoughts consisted of; "Oh my god what the FUCK is he okay with this does he like me do I like him he's so pretty he's really good at playing piano I wonder if he's that good with his hands at other things WAIT WHAT'S HE DOING-" You cut your own mind off when Louis's hand reached for yours and gently grabbed hold of it. Your breath hitched as his shaky fingers intertwined with yours and you looked up at him with wide eyes to see him smiling nervously. From what you could see in the dark, his face was a cute pink and his eyebrows were furrowed sheepishly. You practically melted on the spot.

"..You're really cute." You murmured softly, a small twinkle of a grin pulling at your lips. Louis's eyes widened in surprise and he stumbled over his words as he struggled for a reply.

"Oh, uh, cute? I'm cute?" He finally choked out, his empty hand tugging at the pocket of his trenchcoat. You giggled quietly and rubbed his hand with your thumb while he fussed. "Wow.. just.. wow, yay!" His voice was bubbly and his eyes were full of light and you could tell he didn't really know what to do with himself. Louis looked like he was going to burst at the seams and he just couldn't stop smiling. Neither could you.

"You're silly, too." You remarked with a skittish laugh. He shot you a dirty look and you scrunched up your nose at him.

"So are you." He snorted, and after a split moment you could swear you heard him say something under his breath, then he spoke - very nervously - aloud. "But listen, I'm gonna just.. I'm gonna get serious! Cool? Cool." You snickered but quieted quickly, scared but very interested with what he had to say.

"I'm.. really glad that you found us." Louis began, staring down at your intertwined hands with a wistful smile. You didn't dare to speak, it wasn't often that Louis got serious like this. "You're really fun to be around and honestly? You've made Ericsons a lot better. Everyone really likes you.." He took a moment to pause and sucked in a breath.

"Especially me." 

You felt like you were going to pass out. HE LIKES YOU? Or is he just saying that he likes you as like.. a best friend? Or just more than everyone else does? Your brain was going to explode but before you could ask any questions, he kept speaking.

"Thank you for.. everything, really." Louis chuckled and pushed back his hair, squeezing your hand lightly with his other hand. "Thank you for seeing past all the jokes and everything, for really seeing me. Thank you for being so fun and cool and.. sweet and just.. so cute." He stammered to get his last words out and you felt more shy and bashful than you ever have in your life. "You're really important to us now. Important to me." 

You gulped hard and forced yourself to look up at him again, your voice shaky. "You're important to me too, Louis, really. I could thank you for the same things, you're.. you're really just amazing." You admitted, watching his smile grow diffidently on his face. "Don't tell anyone, but you're my favorite." You quipped in a whisper. He laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Your secret is safe with me." Louis promised and crossed his heart. The snicker you let out turned into a yawn and your sleepiness hit you like a herd of walkers. You didn't even realize how late it was, or how long you'd been with Louis. "Do you want me to walk you back to your room?" He asked, noticing how tired you looked. You nodded gratefully and he helped you stand from the bench to lead you down the corridor, not once letting go of your hand. You tried to be as quiet as possible but the creaking of broken floorboards and squeaking shoes refused to allow you. However, you were lucky - in many ways - that night and made it to your room without waking anyone up. It'd be a very.. angry encounter, every kid at the school loved their sleep.

"Here." He whispered as you came to the door of your room, popping it open and letting you walk in first.

"Wow, what a gentleman." You teased.

"Glad to be of service." Louis bowed at you and you laughed, pushing his shoulder playfully. The two of you stood in your room in a soft silence for a few seconds before he uncomfortably broke into it. "I'm gonna go call it a day," he yawned, "thank you for listening to me play."

As he turned to walk out, you panicked. It was now or never.

"Wait, Louis!" You blurted out, reaching to stop him. He looked over his shoulder then turned to you, curious. "I, uh, have something for you before you go." You tapped your fingers together nervously and felt your stomach fill with butterflies, silently praying that this would go well.

"What is it?" Interest pooled in his voice and he stepped closer to you, looking down expectantly.

You gulped hard and stood on your toes to press a quick kiss against his cheek.

Louis stared at you with wide, surprised eyes and reached his hand up to touch where you had kissed. "Oh! Oh wow, oh my god, uh.. Wow.. Um, thank you!" He stammered, grinning wider than you'd ever seen. 

"Um.. You're welcome!" You responded, bouncing on your heels nervously - more like in terror, but nervous was a better word - and returning the smile. You bid eachother good night and you dove into bed that night happier than you'd been in years.

 

"Rise and shine, sweetheart! We're on patrol today!"

A sudden shout threw you out of your thoughts and you lurched out of your bed, clutching your chest in fright. You calmed when all you saw was Ruby standing in your doorway. She smiled at you and practically rushed you out of bed to get ready for your outing.

"Calm down! I was having a good dream, Ruby, you just ruined it!" You hissed while you threw on your jacket. You could feel the chilly spring breeze floating in through your window.

"Ooh, a good dream, huh?" She sang curiously. "Was it about Louis-"

"SHUT UP SOMEONE MIGHT HEAR YOU!" You practically shouted, lunging toward her. Ruby jumped back but laughed and patted your shoulder.

"Hun, it's fine! Everyone's outside." She assured you. "But so it was about Louis, then?"

You groaned. "I'll tell you when we get outside the gates." Ruby rushed you out of the room, more than excited to hear what you had to say.

"You know, you two would be so cute together. Have you seen the way he looks at you?" She murmured as you walked out of the school together, trying to keep quiet so no one else heard. You snapped your head to look at her, grabbing her arm.

"What do you mean 'the way he looks at me'? How does he look at me?" You urgently asked. Your stomach couldn't help but flip at the thought. Was it a good thing? Ruby giggled and swatted your hand away.

"Like you're his favorite thing on the face of the earth."

You felt like you were gonna pass OUT. Did he really look at you like that? You sure fucking hoped he did. You wondered what you looked like when you looked at Louis, but it kind of made you worried. Could everyone tell that you had a crush on him? Did HE know? You assumed that he did, you fucking kissed him after all, so.

"Ruby, how do I look at Louis?" You asked warily. Ruby only smiled.

"Like you're in love."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! chapter seven is out a little early because i'm going to be gone tomorrow and wouldn't be able to post it. i apologize for it being a little short, but sometimes filler is necessary to build the story. i promise things will be getting really interesting and spicey soon, it won't be long lmao
> 
> but i'm going to be going on a very small hiatus; i'm going on vacation from april 22 to april 29 so there won't be an update until friday, May 3. i'm really sorry that i won't be able to update for a little while, but i hope you enjoy the update when it comes out!
> 
> thank you guys for reading verdance, i really really appreciate it. it means a lot to me, all of you are so inspiring to me! if you need anything from me, don't be afraid to pm me.
> 
> thank you so much again!
> 
> <3

Like you were in love?

Were you in love with Louis?

You weren't sure. You've known him for a few weeks, was that enough time for you to have fallen in love with him? Hell, you felt like you fell in love with him the moment he first spoke to you, so definitely. A week was nothing. Maybe you were in love with him.

The way he made your heart flutter couldn't be anything else but love.

As you and Ruby walked out of the gates, you made eye contact with Louis and he flashed you a beautiful smile, waving at you as you went by. Your stomach filled with butterflies and you couldn't help but let a wistful giggle escape from your lips as you passed.

"Oh yeah, you've got it bad, hun." Ruby laughed from beside you, tugging on your shirt to get your attention when you didn't reply.

"Huh? Got what bad?" You hummed, casting one last look over your shoulder. Ruby giggled and smacked you on the head.

"Louis! You really are in love with that boy, I can see it in your face." She retorted, gently popping you on the nose with a finger. You rolled your eyes but shrugged, feeling a heat come to your cheeks.

"Oh hush, Ruby. So what if I am?" You snorted and crossed your arms while she opened the gates with a loud creak. Ready to rush out into the woods to gossip with Ruby, you quickly stepped outside but was stopped at the call of your name.

"Hey!" Violet beckoned you over to her with Clementine and AJ by her side. You gave her a curious look. "We need to talk to you. Ruby, go out with Louis instead, okay?"

Ruby held in an excited gasp and tried to contain herself while he walked over, bow in hand. You silently prayed that she wouldn't let it be obvious that you had a crush on him while they were out. You gulped then turned back to the group with a smile.

"Need to talk to me?" You echoed. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

"Not at all." Clementine broke in. There was an excited glint in her eyes as she spoke. "We've been thinking about what you said a while ago, about building more stuff here. We think it's a good idea."

You were gonna fucking scream.

"Wait, seriously?" You felt almost dizzy you were so excited and clutched your hands over your heart while trying to contain yourself from twirling and dancing around. "You mean it?" AJ giggled and swung his feet while he sat on the bench.

"Yeah! We just need to decide on what to do first, but whatever it is, you'll be in charge of it. This was your idea in the first place, and we all trust you. Is that okay?" Clementine asked, standing up on her crutches. You nodded with a wide, determined grin and held back the urge to salute her like you saw Louis do on occasion.

"That's perfect! Thank you so much!" A delighted sigh escaped your lips and you bounced on your heels. "I think it'd be best to start up some farmland outside, but we're going to need fences, too. We don't need any animals getting in and eating what we grow or walkers trampling our crops if they get close." You decided. "I want to work on the greenhouse after we get the farms outside going, that way we have the indoor area ready for when winter hits."

"We're going to need to clear some trees, too, so we have room for the farms in the first place. But we can use that wood for what we build later, so we'll have to find a place to store what we chop down." You kept rambling on, more talking to yourself and thinking aloud than anything. Breaking out of your trance, you quickly turned to Clementine and she almost jumped. "Do we have plows? Or axes? Shovels?" Your voice was hopeful and you prayed that Ericsons had something. If not, you'd have to come up with a pretty creative solution.

"We have axes and shovels but I don't know about any plows. This was a school, not a farm." She replied with a hint of a laugh. "Any tools should be down in the cellar."

"Got it, thank you!" With no hesitance you rushed toward the cellar doors and ripped them open, clambering down the steps inside. You were too excited to stop for breath, but when you realized you could barely see anything, you had to pause. "Shit." You huffed, looking around for a source of light. Close to the staircase was a large flashlight and you scooped it up, turned it on, and began your search.

You shone your light over many things - empty cans, mason jars, rope, wire, weapons - but nothing you needed. However you made mental note of where those things were in case you needed them for later. Jars and things could be very useful. "Aha!" You cried aloud as your light clashed over items you could use for farming. Spades, tools with forks on the ends, a couple of hoes. You could see a few wooden barrels, a couple of pitchforks, and a rake sitting against one of the shelves nearby, too. You couldn't be any more lucky, but you hoped to find some seed packets somewhere. "Could someone help me get this stuff out of here?" You called out of the cellar and heard footsteps clomping down the steps soon after. Violet and AJ appeared with a surprised look and you grinned, showing off what you found.

It took you a while to haul everything out of the cellar, especially the barrels and boxes, you even had to get Willy and Aasim to help too. The sun had even started to go down by the time everything was out, you found a few knick-knacks and other tools too. No one had really bothered to go in the cellar anymore. You wondered why.

"Whoa, what's all this?"

Your head snapped up at the sound of Louis's voice and you beamed at him. Ruby was behind him with a proud smile, to which you also wondered why, and you threw her a wave. "We're starting some projects soon! Tomorrow we're gonna start to clear out some of the trees outside for farmland." You answered with a grin, patting the side of one of the wooden barrels with a hollow thunk. Louis crossed his arms and nodded, impressed. There went your heart speeding up again.

"Oh, nice! But, uh.. how are we supposed to do that?" He laughed sheepishly. You giggled back.

"We have axes to cut the trees and shovels to remove the stumps. After we get a good patch of land clear, we'll start to till it and get it ready for seeds," you explained, "but we still need to find seeds. Do we have any in the greenhouse?"

"I'll go and see. Last time I checked, there was fertilizer and seeds." Ruby offered with a burst of excitement. You nodded and she dashed off toward the greenhouse.

"So, how do you know how to do all this stuff? You don't look like much of a farmer." AJ asked curiously, poking at the ground with one of the forks. Violet nodded her head in agreement.

"I actually lived on a farm at the beginning, I told you guys that." You responded lightly. AJ breathed out a small 'oooh' as he remembered and you giggled. "My family taught me. I just hope I can remember everything. It's not too hard!"

"I do want to see if there's any books on agriculture in the library though. They could be really helpful for these projects. Architecture would be good, too." You said, thinking out loud. Louis whistled.

"Architecture, too? We're really going all out, huh?" He said, his hands holding onto his trenchcoat. You heard his voice shake a little, like he was excited to start the project, too.

"Hell yeah!" You chirped enthusiastically. "The wood we chop down for clearing can be used for so much stuff, it's all kind of a cycle! I just hope it works." Louis sighed and smiled. He loved listening to you talk, whether it was stupid as fuck or something really important. Ruby had accidentally let a tiiiny bit of information slip while they were out at the fishing shack, but would he ever tell? Nope.

"I'm sure it will. So we start tomorrow?" He assured you, bumping your arm with his shoulder. You nodded and he grinned. "Got it. I'm gonna go help Omar with dinner, do you wanna come?"

"Oh, sure!" You quickly trailed after him when he took off. "Just imagine, soon enough we'll be having fresh vegetables and shit to eat! Maybe we could plant some berry bushes and stuff, too, if we have the seeds! Maybe even a TREE! That'd take a while.. BUT WHO CARES! WE'RE GONNA HAVE FARMS!" You gasped in exhilaration at your realization and danced around Louis in sudden excitement, grabbing his hands in yours while you bounced on your feet. "It's gonna be so fucking good! Can you imagine it?"

Louis carefully squeezed your hand before letting you take it away. "It's gonna be sick as fuck, I can imagine it." He agreed with a chuckle. "Have you told Omar yet?"

You gasped again, remembering that you hadn't.

"OH MY GOD HE'S GONNA LOSE HIS MIND! OMAR!!" You dashed away from Louis as quick as you could, your excitement truly taking you over. Louis sauntered along to follow you, shaking his head with a smile. You could've sworn you heard him whisper before you ran;

"God, you're too fucking cute."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!
> 
> i sincerely apologize for not updating after my hiatus. i didn't mean to push off updating for so long and i'm so sorry for leaving you guys without another update for a while. i was uninspired and really demotivated to write for awhile and that made me want to put off writing verdance, but i don't want to put it off any more and i'm going to be back on my regular update schedule!
> 
> i'm okay, nothing happened, and my vacation was fun! i was just very demotivated and i'm sorry for putting off this update for so long. you can expect a new chapter this saturday!
> 
> thank you guys for reading verdance and being so supportive, it means so much to me
> 
> i love you guys, thank you so much!!

"Alright guys, let's get to work!"

The sun was just rising and the birds were quietly singing, signalling that it was going to be morning soon. The air was cold and damp, as was the grass beneath your feet, and the wind blew around, tangling in your hair. You could've sworn it was whispering to you, telling you good luck. Before you stood Louis, Willy, Aasim, and Violet, all with axes in their hands. Their eyes shone excitedly and you could barely breathe you were so thrilled.

Your group stood outside the gates in a gathering of trees divided by the path to the gates of the school. You had marked the trees that needed to be cut down with a piece of red chalk you found in the cellar and had found a couple of wheelbarrows to haul the logs back to the school.

Today was the day you began work on farmland, and you couldn't be more excited.

You decided to start very early in the day so you could get more work done. The sooner this was finished, the better, you had said. You divided into two groups, with Willy, Aasim, and Louis at the left and you and Violet at the right. After splitting up, you began work right away, hacking and chopping at the first marked tree you came across. The splitting of the wood was loud, and when they fell and crashed to the ground it was even louder, and you couldn't help but get anxious. What if doing this alerted walkers to your position? Sure, your group had weapons, but how would everyone get work done with the dead on their backs? You tried to push your worries away and focus on clearing the trees and stumps.

As you began to hack your first tree into smaller logs to fit in the wheelbarrows, Violet's voice grabbed your attention.

"So, how are you and Louis?" She grunted as she slammed her axe into the side of another tree. You nervously narrowed your eyes and dropped the heavy piece of wood into the barrow with a loud CLANG.

"Me and Louis?" You wet your lips and grabbed another hunk. "What do you mean?" Violet gave off a little laugh and paused, giving you a knowing look.

"I mean you and Louis." She repeated, but it still made no sense to you. "It's pretty obvious that you two are together."

You choked.

"WHAT?!" You coughed out, eyes wide. "We're not together! Like, seriously, we're not!" You denied, waving your arms in fierce disagreement. Violet snuffed a giggle by putting a hand over her mouth.

"Are you sure about that? I don't think you'd get so flustered if you weren't together." She teased, tossing her axe hand to hand. You found yourself with no words to say, your mouth opening and closing as you struggled to find something. "Hey, I'm messing with you. You know that, right?" She reassured you with a smile, but you could see her still trying not to laugh.

"I know." You sighed, rolling your eyes. "Look, don't say anything, but I do like him. I just don't know what to really do about it." Violet broke into a wild grin and pumped her fist into the air.

"I KNEW IT!" She triumphantly cried out. "Aasim is gonna be so mad when I tell him I won the bet!" You gave her a dirty, confused look.

"What bet?"

"The bet that if you liked Louis or not."

"I HATE YOU GUYS SO MUCH."

Violet broke into a laughing fit and you groaned, tossing another chunk of wood into the barrow. It was beginning to get full and pretty heavy.

"Hold on, I'm gonna go get one of them to take this back. It'll get too heavy to even move if we don't get some back to the school." You were grateful to change the subject. Violet came behind you and grabbed the barrow's handles.

"I got it, okay?" You smiled at her and nodded. She giggled. "It gives me another chance to see Clem, so." You rolled your eyes and beckoned her to leave before returning to your axe. 

It'd be rather hard to chop down all these trees, you thought, but it would be worth it to get the land cleared. You'd have food and crops growing sooner or later and you couldn't wait for it. You felt like, one step at a time, you and your friends would make Ericsons' feel like some sort of sanctuary away from the apocalypse.

Time had passed quickly and the sun had began to sink behind the tall trees. The stars and moon in the sky faintly shone down upon the forest floor as if they were excited for night to sweep over the world. You had barely noticed how dark it was getting until you had to sit and take a break from moving logs, your legs tired and arms weak. You were covered in sweat and your hair clung to your head and while you felt more tired than you had in a long time, you could only look around at the field and be proud of yourself. Violet came back for a short moment to return the wheelbarrow but she told you she had to leave again because Clem said she had a surprise waiting for her back at the school. You didn't mind, but you didn't get nearly as much work done as you would've with her on the field with you.

You rested your head on your arm and shut your eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath of the chilly dusk air. During your break, the only thing that snapped you awake was the crunching of leaves coming from behind you. The steps were slow and you could tell whoever it was was trying to be quiet, but it wasn't working. You giggled under your breath, deciding not to bother opening your eyes.

"Louis, I can hear you, you know. Trying to sneak up on me isn't gonna work." You teased, raising your voice so he could hear you. The footsteps kept approaching, and you realized that there were multiple other sets in tow. You rolled your eyes. "Aasim, Willy, come on, you guys too? I don't scare easy!" 

No one answered you, and the footsteps kept coming closer.

With a deep huff, you stood up from the stump you sat on and turned around to face your friends with your arms crossed.

You only realized that these weren't your friends when a walker, gnashing its jaws, grabbed you by your arms and forced up against one of the uncut trees. 

"LOUIS!" You screamed in terror, lifting up your hands to hold them against the walkers throat and force its teeth away from you. It was strong and you were tired, too weak to push it completely off of you. "WILLY, AASIM! HELP!" You continued to cry out, praying that the other walkers weren't too close behind. You felt your fingers begin to press into the walker's thin, rotted skin and pierce the muscle beneath. Blood squelched from the gash and squirted onto your face and clothes and you sputtered in disgust, desperately struggling against the monster.

In one distraught, strength-swallowing push, you managed to shove the walker away from you and you dashed away from the tree, tears of fear mixed with blood splattered on your face. Before you could get a few steps away, you tripped and tumbled over the very stump you were just sat upon a few moments ago and crashed onto the forest floor. A different walker spotted you, hissed, and flopped over top of you. His jaws struggled to catch even a nip of your skin and you grasped him by what little hair he had left, pulling him by the scalp to get him away. 

"GOD, PLEASE! HELP ME!" Your voice pierced through the otherwise silent night as you begged and you could only pray that your friends hadn't already have gone into the school. Otherwise, you'd be left alone out here, to die. You should've brought a weapon, you thought, how stupid of you. You felt the scalp of the walker in your hands begin to tear away from its skull and true impending doom began to hit you. 

You were going to die here. This walker was going to bite your throat, and you were going to die.

CRACK!

Blood squirted all over you, pouring over your collarbones and catching in your clothes, sputtering over your face. The walker's body fell over top of you, limp. You were practically hyperventilating you were breathing so fast, adrenaline and relief - and confusion - coming over you in a flood of emotions. You lifted your head up from the ground and rolled the body off of you to see Louis with a shovel in his hands. In two quick movements, he bashed both walkers in their heads and they crumbled without another groan.

Louis whipped around as soon as they were dead, eyes focused on you. His entire body was shaking and his eyes were wide and glossy but they flooded with relief as soon as he saw that you were okay. He sat down on his knees next to you and pulled you off the ground, his hands running across your face and arms and body to check you for bites.

"Fucking.. Jesus.." Louis whispered and swallowed hard, taking your hand and squeezing it tightly. You couldn't find the words to speak and as he touched you, you realized that you were trembling. "I thought I lost you. I thought that before I even got here you were gonna be dead. No bites? They didn't get you?" He asked softly, his voice hoarse with worry. You shook your head to confirm you weren't bit, but you could feel some cuts and scrapes on your arms, legs, and stomach. Louis let out the deepest sigh you'd ever heard and scooped you up in his arms and slammed you against his chest, squeezing you tightly as if he never wanted to let you go. "I thought I lost you.." He repeated and buried his face into your neck.

Your eyes went wide - surprise didn't mix well with shock - and you froze for a moment as he embraced you, but you softened in his arms and pressed your head against his. You snuggled deeper into his hug, trying your hardest not to let your tears fall onto his sweater. Louis shushed you softly and ran his fingers over your back in small, calming circles.

"T-thank you." You whispered after a deep breath, your voice wavering. "T-thank you so much, Louis." You squeezed him tight and he hummed quietly. He lifted his head away from your shoulder and brought a hand up to hold your face as he stared into your eyes. Louis smiled softly at you and you gratefully returned the gesture, though you felt a little warm and nervous under his gaze even in a time like this. And to make you even more nervous, Louis pressed a soft, loving kiss against your forehead.

"Of course," he spoke softly, "I'd never let anything happen to you."

You felt like your heart would explode - both from the adrenaline and from this cute ass motherfucker.

"Where's Willy and Aasim?" You asked when you felt more strength come to your voice. Louis's soft embrace helped a LOT.

He shook his head. "They headed back a while ago, they were too tired to stay out - plus, Aasim wanted to see Ruby." He furrowed his brow, but continued. "I'm just glad I was still out here. I.. don't know what I would've done if I wouldn't have been. I was just coming to go get you to go back home, too." Louis brushed a piece of hair from your face as he spoke. You noticed that there was still a scared glint in his eye. 

"I'm glad you were out here, too, Louis. Seriously, thank you so much. I owe you big time." You remarked with a quiet laugh as you finished. A more playful shine appeared in the boy's eyes and he looked dead into yours.

"Now, you don't owe me anything because I'd do anything for you, m'lady," he began teasingly but you knew he was serious and it warmed your heart, "but.. I do have something in mind."

You felt a nervous knot in your throat. "And what is that, my knight in shining armor?" You joked to cover your wariness, feeling your heart melt a little when he smiled at your nickname. He took in a breath and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes refusing to meet yours.

"Okay, so I know you just about almost died but something about right now just feels right, you know?" Louis started and forced himself to look at you. You cocked your head.

"Uh. No, buddy, I don't know." You giggled as he rolled his eyes and pouted his lip. 

"Just.. okay, um.. UGH!" He groaned and clenched his jaw slightly and you could practically see the gears in his brain grinding as he became more frustrated. "JUST! I was going to ask if I could kiss you, but now I just probably made it weird and ruined the moment, so I'm sorry if I-MHPH!"

In a bold move, you cut Louis and pressed your lips against his to quiet him. It'd been a while since you had kissed anyone, but you knew for a fact that none of your previous kisses had felt anything like this. It was cliche to say, but there was genuine sparks and you felt your stomach twist and turn when he returned your gesture. Louis's lips were soft but rough and you could tell that he had just as little experience as you did, but it felt more magical than anything you had felt in a long time. His shaking hand reached your face once more and caressed your cheek gently while he smiled into the kiss. You felt like you were above the clouds or going to explode, or perhaps both, and you almost forgot that you almost died a mere thirty minutes ago. 

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Louis reluctantly pulled away and lightly panted while he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. His eyes shone with joy and he was shaking even more now. From nervousness or glee? You couldn't tell. You giggled at him pressed back into his chest, too nervous to look him in the eye.

"Um.. Let's get back, yeah? It's really dark." Louis suggested while he looked at the sky. It would've been pitch dark out if it weren't for the moon and stars. You nodded against him, not bothering to move, and you felt him move beneath you. He shifted you around in his arms and slipped his hands under your shoulders and knees and scooped you up with him as he stood up. You chirped in surprise - from him picking you up and the way he did it so easily, THIS BOY WAS STRONG AS HELL - and Louis chuckled. "You're still shaking. I think you'd fall over the second you'd try to stand up." He noted.

"I would NOT!" You defended yourself. "But I won't complain about being carried because damn am I tired." Louis rolled his eyes and laughed at you. You pressed your head against his chest and hummed contently.

Sure, you might've almost died.. but you got to kiss your crush. Sounds fair!

You slowly fell asleep in Louis's arms as he carried you back to the school, his breathing and his heartbeat lulling you to bed better than any nursery rhyme, but before you fell completely unconscious you could've sworn he was speaking to you.

"I'll never let anything happen to you, ever. I promise."


	9. Chapter 9

Three months had passed from your walker encounter in the forest and since then you and your friends had made a lot of progress in renovating the school, working on the farms, and expanding your land. You finished clearing trees and finally made it into proper farmland and planted your first crops there. With the seed packets you found in the cellar, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots would be growing pretty soon and be harvested in autumn. You built a sturdy fence with chicken-wire wrapped tightly around it to prevent critters like rabbits and squirrels from eating the crops before your group could even harvest them. 

Ruby had taken the initiative to start work on the greenhouse before your first farms were finished and you were very grateful for it. The more, definitely is the merrier. A lot of things had been accomplished within the past few months, like the rennovation of the inside of the school (like replacing broken floorboards and recoloring the walls and floors with natural berry-and-plant based paint), building a proper stable for Daisy, and starting a small herb and flower garden in the rebuilt greenhouse. The flower garden was Louis's idea, which you thought was so sweet, and when his flowers first started to bloom he gave you a small bouquet and a vase to put them in, which you thought was even sweeter.

You couldn't be any prouder of the progress that you all had made. You finally felt at home for the first time in years and it made you feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Today, you sat with Louis on his piano bench listening to his smooth melody in the little bit of freetime you had before you had to tend to the animals. The morning was warm and would only get worse as the day went on and while you had no calendars to know the exact month, you could tell that it was the middle of summer from the hellish heat. You would welcome autumn and winter with open arms if only you could get away from the humidity. The music distracted you, though, and tore you away from focusing on the warmth in the air for a little while. Your eyes drifted from your love to his piano and you gazed at the instrument, noticing that Louis had placed an array of dried flowers on its frame. While they were slightly duller in color now that they were dried out, they added a pop of color that made it even prettier than it already was.

"What would you think about painting this?" You asked, running your hands along the wood. The color had chipped away a lot and while it was still beautiful, the thought of vibrant colors swirling around the piano's surface excited you. Louis's eyebrows lifted a little as his fingers continued to delicately press the keys.

"Paint it?" He hummed and took his hands away from the piano to grab the sides of his coat. He looked at the instrument carefully then cast his gaze to the entire room and smiled. "Why don't we just paint the whole room? It's way too dull in here. Plus, it'll get you out of shoveling horse shit later." You giggled and tossed your head from side to side in thought.

"You know what? Deal. Painting with you sounds a lot better than dealing with Daisy." You laughed again and stood up from the bench, hands on your hips, and looked around. "I don't think we have nearly enough paint to do this entire room, but we could definitely do the piano for now if you're up for it." You said thoughtfully, tapping a finger to your chin. Louis grinned and gave you a thumbs up.

"Sounds good to me, I'll go tell Aasim he's on poop duty and go grab some paint." He pressed a quick kiss to your cheek before he left and you could swear your knees were going to turn to jelly. He really couldn't get any cuter, could he?

You hummed quietly and came to the side of the piano, idly tracing your fingers along the wood in spirals and loops while you waited for Louis to come back. You could imagine paint winding up the legs of the instrument, sweeping across the surface in intricate design. In reality, it'd probably look more like a five year old's fingerpainting project, but you'd love it still.

Footsteps alerted you that Louis was back and you turned around to see the boy with his arms full of mason jars and a giddy grin on his face. "I got them!" He chirped and placed them on the bench next to you before fishing a couple of paintbrushes out of his pocket. He handed you one and immediately cracked a jar of yellow paint open, swishing his brush around inside. A sweet smell wafted from it and that was one thing to be grateful about plant based paint.

"You're already starting? You don't want to think about what you're gonna do first?" Your tone was light and amused as you watched Louis crouch down to the front of the piano and begin painting. His brush strokes were delicate and his movement was sure, and at that point you realized he already knew what he wanted to do. He shook his head lightly at you and continued painting. "Well I bet it'll be really pretty no matter what it is." You remarked and dipped your own brush into the yellow paint.

"Yeah, pretty.." Louis murmured and let his gaze linger on you as you walked past him to come closer to the piano.

You leaned against the wood and carefully twirled the brush in your hand, eyeing your surface carefully. Maybe winging it and going with whatever feels right would be best. Pressing down gently, you stroked your brush in curling lines and swirls and watched as the yellow paint made its mark on the piano. You twined lines together and found yourself drawing tree branches and leaves over your canvas and soon found that you had covered at least half the piano within the next moment. You grinned as you stepped back to admire your work but ended up tumbling over Louis who had moved closer to your area while you were painting.

"AUGH!" You coughed as your head hit the floor. Your paintbrush fell from your hand and coated your arm in a thick line of paint before it hit the ground too, and you felt a cool sensation against your now exposed stomach. When you tripped, you had knocked a smaller jar of blue paint down with you and it spilled all over you and your clothes. Louis scrambled out from under you and went to offer you a hand but after seeing you coated in paint.. he just had to laugh. And by laugh, it was an entire gigglefit. "DON'T LAUGH AT ME! This is your fault!" You snorted and scooped a bit of blue paint onto your fingers to fling at Louis. It splattered against his coat and undershirt and he paused from laughing to gasp.

"You didn't just do that." His mouth gaped in disbelief. 

You sneered. "Oh, I just did." Louis glared at you, but his eyes glimmered playfully as he came toward you with outstretched arms.

"COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"

You screeched as he dove for you and you jumped to your feet to run away but tumbled again just as quickly as you got up. Being too close behind, Louis tripped over your feet and landed in a pile on top of you, practically crushing the air out of you.

"Louis, get off! I can't breathe!" Your voice came out muffled as you smacked your hands against his chest, but he barely bothered to move. He lifted himself off you but kept you pinned to the ground with his hands on each side of you.

"There. Can you breathe now?" Louis teased and watched you squirm beneath him. 

"Yeah, I can breathe. Now get off me, stupid." You warned, trying to shove him off with your hands. He didn't budge but one of his hands began to lift up and in a flash, it shot to your stomach and began to tickle you. "LOUIS! QUIT! GET AWAY FROM ME!" You squealed, smacking his hands away from you. "YOU'RE SO RIDICULOUS, STOP!"

"NEVER! This is payback for getting paint all over me!"

"YOU LITERALLY TRIPPED ME AND DUMPED PAINT ALL OVER ME!"

"WELL, UH, IT WASN'T ON PURPOSE SO IT DOESN'T COUNT!"

Everyone in the school could probably hear your yelling but you were so focused on each other that you couldn't hear or think about anything else, including the opening of the piano-room door.

"Guys, shut the fuck UP!" Violet burst in, her fists clenched. "I was just coming to get you, we need you outside. Now." Her tone was urgent, almost scared, and she left hurriedly. You felt a tight knot slip into your stomach and worry began to tug at your heart. Louis got to his feet and helped you to yours and ushered you out the door.

"She sounded serious, like serious serious. Let's go, come on. We'll finish painting later." Louis said, swallowing hard. 

As you walked toward the exit door, a dreadful feeling flooded over you. You prayed that this wasn't anything big.

When you stepped outside, Clem quickly beckoned you over and you rushed to meet her.

"What's going on? Did something happen?" You asked and cast your gaze around the clearing. Nothing seemed wrong, but when you heard a new voice from outside the gate you realized what the urgency was about.

"New people," Clementine whispered, "and they don't seem friendly. We don't know who they are or what they want for sure right now, but we need to figure it out now. Get up on one of the towers with Violet, I'll talk to them from down here."

You nodded and did as you were ordered. Your hands shook as you hooked them around the tower's ladder and you felt your heart already pounding in your chest. What in the hell did these people want? Violet cast you a worried glance as you came up to join her and you looked down to see a group of four people - two women and two men. They seemed older, maybe in their late twenties or thirties, and they definitely didn't seem like they were here to only chat. Their clothes were roughed up and dirtied, and two of them carried guns. You gulped. They could kill you all right now and not a single one of you would be able to do anything about it. You hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"What do you want? Why are you here, and how did you find us?" Clementine's voice rang out, strong and confident. She stood with her head high and there wasn't a single falter in her posture or tone. This woman could kill all four of those people with a mere glance.

"What do we want?" The woman in front responded, fiddling with the pistol in her hand. She held her finger close to the trigger, ready to shoot if need be. You licked your lips and gripped the brick wall as you watched the encounter. "We want supplies. We want food. Anything you've got, really." She sneered. "I'm Mads, that's Aya, Jude, and Luca. We've got plenty more of us back home, too, so don't think that you can just get away with not giving us what we want."

"Now, you don't need to know how we found you. That's none of your concern. What is your concern, though, is getting us our shit. We don't care if we have to take from a bunch of kids -we're gonna take what we need from whoever the hell we need to." Mads rambled on and approached the gate. Violet readied her bow, as did AJ with his gun on the opposite side of the wall, and the woman glanced up at them with an amused smirk. She put her hands up and slowly backed away. "You can expect that we'll be back soon, that's all you need to know. Let's roll." With one hand movement, she and her gang disappeared to wherever they had came from. 

You set your elbows onto the brick and held your face in your hands as everyone began speaking to one another down in the clearing. Violet patted you on the shoulder before she left to join them. You stood alone on the tower and only then did the true feeling of terror and dread hit you.

You could lose this place and these people, just as you have too many times before.

No. You wouldn't let it happen. Not to this place, not to these people. They meant to much to you. You'd never let anything happen to them, not until you took your dying breath.

"I promise." You whispered aloud. "Not ever."

Thunder rumbled in the distance and dark clouds began to fill the sky. There was a light rain beginning to fall from the sky and the wind was starting to kick in. It wisped and curled around you, chilling you from skin to bones.

There was a storm coming, and there was nothing that you could do to stop it.


End file.
